1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sliding module for a slide-type portable communication apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a module for opening and closing a slide-type portable communication apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a portable communication apparatus refers to an electronic apparatus sufficiently small in size to be carried by a user to perform wireless communications with the other parties. Such portable communication apparatuses may include but are not limited to hand-held phones (HHPs), Cordless Telephone-2 (CT-2) cellular phones, digital phones, Personal Communications Service (PCS) phones, and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and may be classified into many different types according to their appearance. For example, the portable communication apparatuses may be classified as bar-type, flip-type, folder-type, and slide-type portable communication apparatuses according to their appearance. Each of the conventional portable communication apparatuses is indispensably provided with an antenna unit, data input/output units, and data transmitting/receiving units. Usually, the data input unit includes a keypad with which a user can input data by key pressing with fingers. The conventional portable communication apparatus may have actual key buttons and/or a touchscreen. The data output unit would typically include a display screen and a speaker.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, a conventional slide-type portable communication apparatus 1 typically includes a main body 2, a sliding body 3 that slides on/along the main body 2 relative to the main body, and a sliding module 4 that provides a sliding distance L1 from a start position A1 to an end position A2 to urge the sliding body 3 to slide the sliding distance L1 on the main body 2.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 4, the sliding module 4 in the conventional slide-type portable communication apparatus includes a fixed plate 2a engaged with the main body 2, a moving plate 3a that is engaged with the sliding body 3 and slides on the fixed plate 2a, and an elastic body 6 that is interposed between the fixed plate 2a and the moving plate 3a to provide an elastic force for enabling sliding of the moving plate 3a in a direction as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
The elastic body 6 may include, for example, a coil spring, a single-layer spring, and a push rod.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the conventional elastic body 6 has the aforementioned elements to urge the moving plate 3a to slide the sliding distance L1. However, as regards the drawbacks of a structure connecting the moving plate 3a to the fixed plate 2a, the moving plate 3a may come to a stop in the center between the start position A1 and the end position A2 of sliding distance L1 at which the expanding force and the contracting force of the elastic body 6 become equal to each other, causing a dead point position 5.
That is, the sliding body 3, which has been sliding on the main body 2, may stop the sliding in the center of the sliding distance L1. If a user of the slide-type portable communication apparatus 1 with the sliding module 4 slightly slides the sliding body 3 to use the communication apparatus 1 in a communication mode, the sliding body 3 may fail to pass the dead point position 5 and move back to the start position A1 of the sliding distance L1. As a result, the sliding body 3 is closed, interrupting the communication mode.
If the expanding force or contracting force of the elastic body 6 is increased to change the dead point position 5, the rotation locus of the elastic body 6 also increases, causing interference with a Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPCB) provided in the communication apparatus 1.
Therefore, there is a need for a device capable of allowing a sliding body to slide past a dead point position of the slide-type portable communication apparatus even with a slight movement by positioning the dead point between a start position and a center point of a sliding distance without increasing the rotation locus of the elastic body.